cruiscin_lan: (watch for plot)
cruiscin_lan ([personal profile] cruiscin_lan) wrote2010-01-18 11:59 pm

FIC: Hypothesis

Title: Hypothesis
Characters: Puck/Rachel
Word Count: ~1250
Rating: R for swearing and possible sex
Disclaimer: If I owned Glee then all proceeds would go towards the Howard Bamboo Legal Defense Fund.
Spoilers/Warnings: Let's say spoilers for all aired episodes, to be safe.
Summary: In theory, they don't work. In practice, they don't work. That doesn't stop them from testing the hypothesis from time to time.
A/N: Written for [livejournal.com profile] superkappa, who won me in the [livejournal.com profile] help_haiti fandom auction. If you want to bid on me, I'm still available - check out my post here for more details!

In Theory

They have so very little in common. They're both in Glee, for example, but they're in it for different reasons. She loves to express herself through song, and she wants to win admiration and fame for her talent (it'll happen someday, she tells herself, if I just stick with it). He joined because, at the time, it was the only way he could find to spend some time with Quinn Fabray since he knocked her up, but now that the baby's been adopted and she's back with Finn, the only things keeping him in the club are the facts that he's too lazy to quit and too bored to find anything else to do.

And, yeah, being in Glee means he gets some musical-related action from time to time. He's still fuck-buddies with Santana, but even though she's a sure thing, sometimes he'll approach Rachel after everyone else has left the room and ask her for some extra help on something he's working on. It threw Rachel off-guard the first time it happened, but by now she's wised up and knows what he's really asking.

Most of the time she'll say "I'm too busy this week" or "I can't tonight" or even "No way, Puck," simple as that.

Every once in a while, though, she'll say "My place or yours?" and, even though all previous experiments have yielded negative results, they can test the possibility of being together all over again.

Hypothesis: Rachel and Puck would have a successful and fulfilling relationship with one another, given the correct parameters.



In Practice

When he goes to her house, he brings his guitar and his textbooks. He spreads his homework out on the floor so they can at least give off the appearance of being productive. (If Rachel's dads ask, he tells them it's "biology" or "anatomy," and Rachel rolls her eyes). They'll spend half an hour going over chords or etudes or whatever other musical shit Rachel feels like doing. She asks, once, if he'd help her with a Myspace video, which he hands-down refuses, but he's game for pretty much anything else that can hold his attention span.

When she goes to to his house, it's only when his mom and sister aren't home, so they can skip the opening act and get straight to the main event.

What they do together is pretty vanilla, in Puck's experience. They don't even have sex, for god's sake, and he's pretty sure he could get a better blowjob from any of the cheerleaders (even the junior varsity squad).

But something about Berry keeps him hooked. Maybe it's because even though she talks a lot, she always has something interesting to say. Maybe it's because she's not just hot - she's really pretty too, and sometimes when the lighting is right and she's smiling at just the right angle, she takes his goddamn breath away. Whatever it is they have is more than just physical - but it's the physical part that's his favorite.

They tumble together on the bed - his or hers, doesn't matter, it always follows the same pattern. They grab at each other's clothing, unbuttoning and unfastening and exposing what's normally hidden underneath. All the while they kiss feverishly, hectically, like they have a time limit or something. Sometimes she'll let him slip the strap of her bra off her shoulder so he can play with her nipples. Sometimes her hand will wander beneath the waistband of his boxers. When they're feeling particularly adventurous, they'll let their mouths do all the exploring.

But every experiment must be conducted in a controlled environment, and Rachel is the one who controls the environment between her legs.

His hand slides up her skirt, and he catches the seam of her panties between his thumb and his forefinger and tugs intently.

"No, Noah," she stops him. "I'm not ready."

She's trying to meet his gaze, trying to lock his eyes with hers so he knows that, while she's serious right now, he knows it's only a little while he'll have to wait, and that if he's patient, he'll get what he wants. But he's too frustrated to focus on her, and he turns his head and stares at the wall for a moment before he asks "Can I at least get a handjob?" and she accedes.

Prediction: Rachel and Puck's relationship will be doomed to failure without sufficient physical intimacy.



In Theory

It happens after one of their marathon make-out sessions, when he's laying on her bed and strumming his guitar as she runs a brush through her hair and reapplies her lip gloss, trying to make it look like they weren't just mashing their mouths against each other for an hour or two.

He's pissed off today, for some reason. He's moodier than ever, lately, and it's worse when he sees a baby about the same age as his daughter should be, and it makes him want to punch something. It's easier to take out his anger verbally, though, and Rachel's an easy target. "You know we're only together because Finn and Quinn are, right?" he asks her. "You want him, I want her, and neither of us is ever going to get what we want."

"You keep telling yourself that," Rachel replies coolly, "and you'll miss out on everything else that could make this work between us."

She's a strange one, that's for sure. She takes offense at the stupidest remarks he'll make about what she's wearing or her performance in Glee that day, but when he's trying to be hurtful, she's able to brush it aside like it's nothing. "What are you talking, Berry?"

"If you have to ask," she mumbles to herself, "you'll never know."

Experiment: Bump uglies.



In Practice

Not all variables can be controlled successfully. At least that's what Rachel Berry thinks to herself when she lets it go too far. They're both practically naked - except for, strangely enough, their socks - and she's laying the edge of her mattress with her legs hiked up against Puck's chest. At least he'd had a condom (in all experiments, they must take precautions), and he's gentle about it when he slowly eases himself into her. The feeling makes her gasp - it's good but it's not right, and Rachel hopes it's not too late to stop.

"I'm sorry, Noah, I can't do this," she interjects, and instinctively Puck pulls out.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, but that's not why. I just..." Rachel, for once, is at a loss for words. "I can't..."

"Don't sweat it, Berry," Puck tells her, taking a step back so she can relax. She sits up, and he sits down beside her, wrapping one arm around her and letting her set her head on his shoulder. She starts to sniffle, and before long, she's like a freaking waterworks factory.

It isn't like him to be this sweet to someone he doesn't even like three-quarters of the time, but for some reason he feels extra bad. She's not his best friend's girlfriend, and she's only half-a-virgin at this point, so he can't explain his guilty feelings to himself. Instead he places his hand on the back of her head as she presses her face into his chest, sobbing.

"It's really no big deal," he tells her, aware of how lame he sounds, but he can't sit there and say nothing, either. "It's okay. It's okay."

He holds her in his arms and lets her cry for the better part of an hour, because he knows this will be the last time they ever try this.

Data: Sexual congress initiated but failed to progress. Intimacy briefly achieved through alternate method, although repeat experiment at this time appears unlikely.



In Theory

Every so often while he's sleeping, he'll get a glimpse of her in his dreams.

Sometimes when she's feeling particularly sorry for herself, she'll flip through an old issue of Cosmo and think of him.

Maybe someday, there will be new research, new resources, new reasons to try again.

But for that, they'd have to revise the hypothesis.




[Poll #1513482]

[identity profile] superkappa.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 08:51 am (UTC)(link)
I loved this, the format you wrote this in was really great. I liked the narrative a lot, it really did feel like a scientific report about an experiment. It was very effective.

If I pick out all my favorite parts, I'd be rambling forever, but here's a couple:

But every experiment must be conducted in a controlled environment, and Rachel is the one who controls the environment between her legs.

To me this says a lot about their relationship and the respect that he has for her and the control she has over that area.

He holds her in his arms and lets her cry for the better part of an hour, because he knows this will be the last time they ever try this.

That just broke my heart, in the best possible way.

Thank you so much for writing this for me! I really loved it!!!

[identity profile] cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 12:35 pm (UTC)(link)
This fic was a learning experience for me. [livejournal.com profile] cameroncrazed, who is smarter than me, taught me all the science I now know!

[identity profile] superkappa.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 12:41 pm (UTC)(link)
And knowing is half the battle!

[identity profile] andbless-mybaby.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 09:55 am (UTC)(link)
WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE, LOVAH.

Dude, that was excellent. It was exquisitely funny-hot-sad, which is my personal holy trifecta for P/R stories - and you nailed it in slightly more than 1,000 words. Your Puck voice is very strong. And the format really was great.

I was going through keeping track of things I wanted to point out that I fucking loved, but I'll settle for one example of each:

Funny - "...half a virgin..." (I'd say LOL!WHICH HALF. Except I read the story, duh.)

Hot - Aborted!sex. I think I'm making that my personal kink for this ship.

Sad - A lot, but the line about the babies his daughter's age. Poor Puck.


Prediction: [livejournal.com profile] cruiscin_lan will continue to write badass Glee fic.

Experiment: Go buy her at [livejournal.com profile] help_haiti; give prompt "Ken Tanaka / Howard Bamboo - disco inferno"

[identity profile] cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 12:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Title: Disco Inferno
Characters: Ken/Howard
Word Count: 100k
Rating:NC-17
Spoilers/Warnings: Watch for falling rocks.
Summary:Ken is shaking his moneymaker while Howard is setting things on fire.
A/N: Please insert $5 to continue.

[identity profile] eldee.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
This was really awesome. Well written, and I enjoyed it a lot!

[identity profile] cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 02:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks for reading!

[identity profile] greydawning.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 02:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I really enjoyed reading this. The format definitely made things interesting. Any chance of you continuing this? :)

[identity profile] cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com 2010-01-19 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Not in the near future - I have a slew of [livejournal.com profile] help_haiti fics I have to do first, and I think I exhausted my knowledge of the scientific method already!

[identity profile] 27-seconds.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
the format was really really interesting and i adored this. great job :)

[identity profile] cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks for reading!

[identity profile] wander-lust-79.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
it was good...I liked your idea and how you presented it...very cute! :) they should totally retest the hypothosis/exerpeiment

[identity profile] cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
Well. I'd be willing to help investigate if you're offering a research grant. ;)

[identity profile] wander-lust-79.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 06:39 pm (UTC)(link)
lol..I'll see what I can do... :)

[identity profile] lunamystik.livejournal.com 2010-01-23 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I loved the way you wrote this. And strangely enough, even though it signaled an end in sorts to their involvement, I loved the last part when Puck just let her cry it out.

[identity profile] cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com 2010-01-23 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Glad you liked it! Thanks for reading. :)

[identity profile] whitelilly0989.livejournal.com 2010-01-29 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
This is one of the most creative PR fics I've read to date. I love how you wrote this, the scientific method suits them, especially with Rachel being an obsessive compulsive person who controls things lol.

And here's the reason why I ship this couple. "She's a strange one, that's for sure. She takes offense at the stupidest remarks he'll make about what she's wearing or her performance in Glee that day, but when he's trying to be hurtful, she's able to brush it aside like it's nothing."---- I can totally see this happening. THAT is like... perfection in this fic.

Shar
xoxox

[identity profile] cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com 2010-02-08 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks for reading! (I swear I will find all of your comments and manage to reply to them all one of these days.)